


Boys in the Bathroom

by OnceAndFloral



Series: I will take a hammer and *fix* the canon [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Canon Divergence, Character Study, Feelings Jams, Michael in the Bathroom, kind of, some nice person told me how to tag this thank you nice person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 22:16:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11746278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceAndFloral/pseuds/OnceAndFloral
Summary: Michael is done letting everything just slip through his fingers.





	Boys in the Bathroom

Wow, such an amazing _fucking_ party. Michael was _so_ glad he came.

He was also glad he had the ability to use sarcasm.

Michael ran a hand through his hair, using his other arm to hug his knees to his chest. Jesus, he’d just wanted to _help_ Jeremy. Why couldn’t he see that the squip was bad news and that it could actually land him in a mental institution?

_He’s had the squip for a couple months now,_ a little voice in the back of his head whispered. _He’s probably dependant on it._ Michael brushed the little voice away. He _told_ Michael it was off. Anything Jeremy had said was his own words.

_Do you really think that’s how dependency works?_

Michael growled, tugging at his hair. It wasn’t his fault Jeremy decided to just go fuck off into the sunset with the cool kids at Michael’s expense. He’d tried to tell him what he was getting into and he didn’t listen and… Michael had just… It hit Michael like a ton of bricks that he didn’t know how Jeremy’s relationship with the squip worked, and he’d just tried to tell him…

Oh fuck.

This was it. Michael shot to his feet, scrubbing away the tears. No more self-pity, Michael was going to fix this, and he was going to do it right. He ripped the door open, coming face to face with a shocked Jenna.

“Hey, you’re not a-”

“Jenna, I need you to save the bathroom for me.” 

She frowned. “But you just got out.”

“Listen, I need to talk to someone, and this is the most private place in the house.” Michael sighed in frustration. “Please, I really need to do this.”

Jenna was silent for a few seconds and she seemingly debated following Michael’s directions. “Fine.”

“Thanks. And don’t tell anyone!” Michael yelled back to her as he sprinted away.

Okay. It was a party, and Jeremy didn’t have any direction without the squip. Where would he go? Fuck, Michael had been his friend for _twelve years_ , he had to know Jeremy better than this.

Christine. He’d probably try to talk to Christine since they were friends now and Michael had been tossed to the side. Fucking… Not now, anxiety, Michael was on a quest. He wove his way to the party, dodging puddles of spilled alcohol and drunk teenagers. He eventually came to the living room where Jeremy was sitting on the couch, staring at a door across the room.

“Jeremy.” Michael grabbed his wrist. The lanky teenager looked up at him with watery eyes. He could see Michael. Good. The squip was still off.

Jeremy opened and closed his mouth a couple times before actually saying something. “I thought I told you to stay away from me.” His voice sounded hoarse. 

“Yea, no, you told me to get out of your way, and I’m not letting you pull this shit.” Michael pulled Jeremy to his feet. “How do you keep the squip off?”

“Alcohol,” Jeremy looked at Michael suspiciously. “Why do you-?”

Michael grabbed a flask from a nearby kid, ignoring their shout of drunken protest as he shoved it into Jeremy’s hands. “Take a drink.”

“I’m not really a drinker, I only drank some in the first place because the squip forced-” Jeremy immediately shut up. “I’m not going to drink it.”

“Jeremy, _please_ , just enough to keep the squip away. I want to talk to you.”

“You want to tell me to get rid of the squip.”

“No, I want to actually _talk_ to you without worrying your answer is just you being fed lines. Is that so much to ask?” 

Jeremy went silent for a little while. After a couple moments he threw back the flask, grimacing as he swallowed the alcohol. “Happy?”

“Very.” Michael started dragging him through the house, back to the bathroom. Jeremy didn’t resist, but he made a few upset noises at being dragged so harshly. He nodded a thanks to Jenna as he shoved Jeremy in through the door, closing it behind them.

“Did you have to be so aggressive?” Jeremy held the flask to his chest like it was a small stuffed animal.

Michael flinched. “I’m sorry, I just really… This is important, okay?”

Jeremy hummed noncommittally, sitting up against the bathtub. “So what do you want to talk about?” He considered the flask for a bit before tossing it back again.

“Jeremy, what did the squip do?”

Jeremy choked on the drink, coughing up clearish liquid. “You said you weren’t going to-”

“I’m not telling you to get rid of the squip, I want to know what it did. Like what does it say to you, why did it-” Michael’s voice cracked. “How did it get you to ignore me? What the fuck has it _done_ to you?”

When Jeremy didn’t respond, Michael thought he’d accidentally chased him off again. Then there was a sharp inhale of breath. “It, uh… points out everything that’s bad about me. Which, yea I get it, I’m kind of a shitty person but you don’t have to…” He paused, fingers tightening around the flask. “It says everything about me is terrible. And makes me say that too.”

“Jeremy, that’s-”

“And it shocks me.” Jeremy was on a roll now, staring blankly at a spot on the floor. “Like electricity shocks, not ‘oh, wow, that’s surprising’ shocks. When I put my hands in my pockets, or when I slouch, or when I think about sex… I’m not allowed to jerk off anymore which isn’t the worst part of all this, but it really sucks.” He frowned. “It tried to get me to sleep with Brooke, but I didn’t want to and then when Chloe tried to sleep with me it wouldn’t let me get up, oh my god, Michael, I couldn’t move I-”

Michael rushed to his side, gently removing the flask from Jeremy’s grip. He was holding onto it so tightly that he was going to hurt his hands. “Holy shit, I had no idea.”

“I need it, Michael,” Jeremy whispered hoarsely. “I know that you don’t need to be popular, and that you’re happy with who you are, but I… I don’t have any of that. I want to be something other than the loser. It’s… I’m sick of always being left out and looking at everything from the outside. I’m sick of hating everything I am.”

Michael frowned. “You don’t need a squip to do that though.”

“Yes, I do.” Jeremy sounded more forceful now. “It’s a fucking quantum supercomputer, and it says I’ll never be anything without it. I don’t know about you, but I think its judgement is better than mine.” His voice dropped down again. “All I have to do is obey, and then I can be something everyone likes. Something _I_ like.”

Well no fucking wonder Michael’s speech earlier didn’t change Jeremy’s mind. The squip’s clutches around him were much tighter than Michael had thought.

“I’m sorry I let the squip turn on optic nerve blocking for you.” Jeremy sighed. “It was shitty, and shortsighted. I thought that maybe… after I was cooler we could… I know, I was really dumb.”

Michael chewed on his lip. “I am kind of upset about that. But you shouldn't have to go through this thing, Jeremy. It's literally abusing you, and I… I don't know what any of that is like. I'm sorry I just tried to get you to get rid of the squip without knowing the whole story, but Jeremy, _please_ , get rid of it for your own well being.”

Jeremy looked lost. Broken. “But I'm never going to be anything without it.”

Michael let out of strained laugh. “Guys like us are cool in college though, right? Besides, you've already made some friends with the popular kids. If they're really worth keeping around they won't care.”

“Michael, I hate myself. Everything that I am. I can't change that without the…”

“You don't _need_ to.” Michael intertwined their fingers. “Look, I know that all of this won't go away in a day. That just a few words aren't going to make everything better. But dude, I promise you that you're fucking wonderful, and that I'll do anything I can to help you see that. Hell, I'm no quantum computer but I'm sure there's something I can do so that other people see that.” Jeremy didn't respond. “Please? I just want my friend back before he's totally fucked over by some stupid computer.”

Jeremy took a shaky breath. “I would but… I don't know how to get it out.”

Relief washed over Michael. “Well, you know how I said I did some research….?”

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I might go back and completely change the ending. I'm kind if iffy on it. I'm also probably gonna make a sequel to it.
> 
> My Tumblr moved to @squip-grandma


End file.
